After the Storm
by David Scholes
Summary: The gods and mystic powers of the Multiverse combine to face the abstract entities and cosmic powers. Most do not survive the conflict. Yet as an Exitar class Celestial revisits the scene of Earth's destruction he sees their is yet hope!


After the Storm **After the Storm **

The Exitar class Celestial moved slowly through an area of space containing crackling residual energies and swirling cosmic dust and debris. Leandarr was the sole survivor of his race in a conflict that had destroyed most life in the Multiverse.

The dust and debris in this particular area of space was all that was left of Sol the star system of humankind. Something had brought the hulking Celestial here to what was the scene of one of many great battles.

Leandarr noticed a small part of the hilt of Twilight, the sword of Surtur among the debris. In the end the great sword had proved even more durable than the Odinsword itself. The Celestial also noticed another artefact among the debris. Impossibly, inconceivably, the hammer of Thor had survived the conflict almost undamaged. There were some small cracks and fissures in the hammer but it was structurally sound. The Celestials had always respected this artefact and the bond between it and it's master. Leandarr detected no other evidence of the pantheon gods, elder gods or other mystic powers in this vicinity. Even Odin's Destroyer construct which at the height of the battle had housed the life forces of most of Earth's pantheons had been totally destroyed.

--

There had been no true victor in the massive confrontation between the cosmic and mystic powers of the Multiverse both suffering near total losses. For reasons that no longer mattered the struggle was clearly delineated on status as either an abstract entity/cosmic power or magical/mystical entity. The conflict made for strange bedfellows and led to unheard of alliances. The Silver Surfer fighting alongside Tyrant, Abraxas, Morg, Arishem and Galactus. Odin standing shoulder to shoulder with Surtur, Dormammu, Set, Chthonn and the Demogorge. These were just a few examples.

In anticipating the conflict Odin had sent audio-visual communications to the better known extra-terrestrial pantheons. He had also despatched Thor and Heimdall to talk with the lesser known extra-terrestrial pantheons. In this quest Thor was aided by the incomplete "map of the gods" constructed some time ago and jointly by the Earth pantheon skyfathers and some of Earth's elder gods.

There had even been time for a hastily convened meeting of representatives of many of the more powerful pantheons of the Multiverse. This gathering taking place at the "Allthing" meeting place in Asgard. Even Odin himself was surprised at the numbers that came as the venue proved too small.

Just as the Earth had it's pantheon and elder gods and other mystical forces , so too did most planetary systems with intelligent life have some form of gods. Some were effectively creations of their believers while other pantheons predated their mortal believers and did not require worship for their power and continued existence.

Of all the great powers of the Multiverse only the Living Tribunal had been able to stay out of the conflict, in effect to remain neutral. The efforts of the Tribunal to prevent the conflict proved ineffectual. This failure went to the very basic purpose of his existence. A staggering blow which greatly diminished him and from which he never truly recovered.

Even the race of Watchers had been forced to join the other cosmic powers

While initially there were those that sought to contain the confrontation to our own Universe, it inevitably spread in a domino type fashion to many other areas of the Multiverese.

A very few entities on both sides had retreated to the most removed planes of existence and some had "hard encased" themselves in pocket dimensions of their own creation to avoid their destruction. So bitter was the enmity between the warring factions that most had stayed and fought it out to the bitter end. Even most of those who had sought to "distance" themselves from the conflict had been hunted down in their havens and destroyed.

Agommotto, Cytorrak, and Umar were among the surviving mystical powers. Umar holding on to a speck of the dread ones realm that still existed. As the embodiment of our Universe great Eternity survived though in much diminished form. Galactus also survived, after a fashion. No one knew the fate of the Silver Surfer. Survival was not necessarily a matter of power but to some extent of luck and where entities lay in the final disposition of forces.

Now there was no prospect of further hostilities as the few remnants of either side no longer possessed the will to continue a now pointless battle. These same powers also lacked the will and probably the capability to restore the Multiverse to it's former greatness. Nor did any of them even to attempt to do so even on a much smaller scale.

All had expected some form of intervention by the ultimate power in the Universe the One Above All but it had not been forthcoming. Even now some of the few survivors thought TOAA could perhaps restore the Multiverse to it's former glory but this had not happened. Others doubted the actual existence of TOAA as men had on Earth for hundreds indeed thousands of years. Had he created the Multiverse, wound it up in some clockwork Newtonian way, created the Living Tribunal and then just simply left us to our own devices with no further interference ?

Though the conflict had spread to almost every corner of the Multiverse the battle for the Earth and Asgard had become central to the conflict.

All of the Earth's pantheons, even those that had long ceased to interact with others, rose up in defence of each other and of the Earth. Even the ancient warriors of the time before time, the dreamtime, were called forth and what mighty warriors they were.

At the height of the battle for Earth and Asgard the Earth's sorcerer supreme joined with the sorcerer supreme of the Asgardian plane unleashing a spell requiring their combined power. At the joint bidding of Odin and Stephen Strange all the past and long dead heroes of the Earth and of Asgard and all the heroes yet to be, rose against the invading cosmic powers. Even so, it was not enough.

As the end drew near Odin interdimensionally teleported all of humanity and all non combatant Asgardians to a protected pocket dimension – a last redoubt. Zeus and other skyfathers did the same with their own non combatants. Moments thereafter the home of mankind was destroyed. Gaea, Earth Mother perished at this time.

Soon thereafter the Destroyer construct housing the life forces of many of Earth's pantheons was vaporised and the screams of countless thousands of life forces set adrift never to be recovered.

Odin, Thor, the Demogorge, and the Demi-Urge fought shoulder to shoulder to the end.

Leandarr recalled the last godblast of the son of Odin. A god full of pure anger and fury beyond all imagining – righteous wrath producing strength and power greater than any warriors madness ever had.

When the end came here the attacking cosmic powers were totally spent.

--

Looking over the battlefield, Leandarr could now sense elements of a great power coming together again. This was what had brought him back here to this almost sacred battle ground. At first he could not perceive the nature of the great power reforming. But as he continued to watch and wait a reality began to dawn on him. It was a fact that any of the great mystic powers of the Multiverse could have told him.

On this day Leandarr last surviving Celestial came to realise that the OdinPower could never truly be destroyed. That it is and always was a force for good and for creation complementary (though subsidiary) to the original forces of creation.

Strangely some element of the Demi-Urge lived on and almost incentuously this element enjoined with the OdinPower.

Leandarr continued to look on as the Odin/Demi-Urge Power recreated not just the Earth but all of the Sol star system including the sun. Then just as the Demi-Urge had seeded life on Earth and created the elder gods long ago, so the Odin/Demi-Urge power seeded the Earth with life anew.

Leander watched on and did not interfere in this process. Rather if it were possible for a great Celestial to experience a sense of wonder then Leandarr experienced this as he was witnessed the events of the Earth's re-creation.

Eventually the massive Celestial turned and moved away. He did not look back. Legend has it that at that moment a huge image of the Allfather appeared briefly near the Earth totally dwarfing the Celestial.

As knowledge of the recreation of Sol spread among the remaining cosmic and mystic powers it seemed to install in them a will to recreate that had been lacking. The Odin/Demi-Urge power moved on to other acts of re-creation. In turn the remaining cosmic and mystic great powers commenced the reconstitution and re-creation of other small areas of our Universe.

It was a definite start on the long road to recovery and who knows but that the ultimate being - the One Above All may one day be motivated to lend them a hand somewhere along the way.


End file.
